Farm & Ranch - March 2020

THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH

MARCH 2020

U.S. chief ag trade negotiator sees ongoing issues By LORI POTTER The Kearney Hub al negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative,

said declines in overall U.S. ag export values — the $141 billion in 2019 was down more than $3 billion from 2018 — are a “real challenge.” He said the challenge in- cludes competition from ag exporting countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Ukraine with low curren-

cy rates compared to the U.S. dollar. That makes their com- modities less expensive. As the U.S. economy had re- mained strong, that’s not the case for some key importers. Doud said Japan, the fourth largest export market for U.S. agriculture, saw economic growth decline by more than

6% in the last quarter of 2019. “That was before the coro- navirus,” he added. Those are a few examples of issues unrelated to the U.S.- China trade war that have made it more difficult for U.S. ag products to compete, Please see TRADE, Page F5

said March 10 part of the solution is the first phase agreement to settle some U.S.- China tariff battles that was signed in January. Doud, the keynote speaker at the 32nd annual Governor’s Ag Conference in Kearney,

KEARNEY—There are no quick, easy solutions to the many issues that affect ex- port market access for U.S. ag products. However, Ambassador Gregg Doud, chief agricultur-

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